Top Design Applications Create a Versatile Engineer

An engineer is a tool, once looked at by an employing company as a Swiss Army knife of talents to be wielded at every whim. Through my years as a contract engineer I have noticed a few trends. Trends and fads demand that engineers expand their knowledge. It never stops, it never slows down -- a momentary lapse and the engineer in obsolete.

The following is a collection of applications that can make anyone adept at engineering. These programs are available to anyone, and can take them from no experience to proficient in a short amount of time.

Computer-aided drafting
The versatile engineer can design it themselves. Of course, the part in question can be drawn on paper, even in a 2D computer-aided drafting (CAD) package like AutoCAD or Draftsight. Those are old, tried, and true standards. It is 3D Solid Modeling that will be the expected standard in the near future. Keep in mind almost every project requires a shape.

I drew a simple pocketed box in SolidWorks 2013. This could act as an enclosure, tray, etc. This particular part could be 3D printed with ease.

If a circle can be drawn on a piece of paper, it can be drawn to an exact size in a 2D CAD program and it can be as easily drawn in 3D CAD and extruded to a desired length. Despite the multitudes of features, options, and methods, CAD programs can be broken down to just a handful of base operations. The first tutorial on whatever program chosen is all that is needed to start drawing 3D, in most cases. Everything learned past that just adds to how well the tool is put to use. Once familiar with this system, picking it up on any other 3D CAD platform should be easy.

For example, AutoCAD Inventor draws parts in almost the same fashion as SolidWorks. Alibre Design, another application, was designed to be a direct competitor to the ease of SolidWorks. It too draws in the same way.

In certain situations, the engineer wouldn't even have to draw the part. A lot of companies like to design using off-the-shelf components. Almost every component out there, like a bolt or a box, has a 3D model that can be downloaded and added to any drawing. In other words, assemble a 3D model of a complete enclosure, to use the example again, without drawing a thing.

Let's say an enclosure is drawn, what next? Having it drawn means nothing if it cannot be fabricated. Most 3D CAD packages can output a handful of file formats. The easiest way to see these parts made is to simply load those files onto a 3D printer and let the system start building. Most printers will handle the common output 3D files. If not tasked with prepping the system, proper maintenance of the 3D printer is important, but that one is easily handled by reading the manual for it. Printing is not the only option. These CAD packages can output G-code, the reduced instruction programming language used for numerically controlled (NC) machine-tools, also known as CNC machinery.

SolidWorks, for example, has a third-party plug-in (Solidcam) that when run can output the G-code needed to run on any type of machine, be it a mill, router, lathe, etc. A less expensive competitor for the SolidWorks platform, Alibre Design, has a number of similar product add-ons that can do the same. The outcome will look like a throwback to BASIC programming, where each line is a simple tool path command. Although nothing is perfect, just relying on the CAD software's G-code output will usually handle the job, error-free.

Computer-aided manufacturing
Aside from using a 3D printer for 3D models, G-code will have to be run on some CNC machines. The G-code program has to be run on a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system. In many cases, this is done on a terminal at complete turnkey CNC machine. However, sometimes a machine is built or retrofitted in-house -- in a do-it-yourself (DIY) fashion. Most of the time, passing the G-code onto the resident machinist is all that is needed. Don't stop there -- familiarizing one's self with how CAM packages operate is well worth while. Being able to handle the in-house machinery looks like an engineer who knows how to get work done.

No matter vast size of learning materials on the Internet, I doubt people will take advantage of it. Most engineers I run across tend to learn only when absolutely necessary. So, unless forced, no one will learn. Which is where school comes into play. It forces students to take a "well rounded" curriculum. Where, as my post here suggest, learning just what you need to know is not an option. Few are disciplined enough to learn on their own.

Once you have the education, learning the software in this post will take you to another level.

Good point. I recently read an article entitled "Do We Need Teachers Anymore". The thesis was basically what you mentioned. With the Internet explosion, sources of information are readily available; even tutors that can and will aid efforts towards understanding the material. At one time the classroom was the only way to go because it was the only vehicle in play now, online education is so available it would be a real error for working engineers not to take advantage. I still think there are courses of study that require "being there" and interaction between peers is a valuable learning tool also, but half-life, maybe no longer appropriate.

Half-life isn't an measure anymore (only an award winning video game series). Many adept "engineers" I know do not even have a degree. They instead learn on their own. Like my post shows here, you can learn anything you want, rather quickly too.

The tech is there to hold your hand all the way through.

Relevancy all depends on the engineer's needs and ambitions, these days.

Great post Cabe. I remember years ago when I was a senior in Mechanical Engineering, my advisor indicated the half-life of an engineer was about five (5) years. This, of course, was based upon changing technology and not really the digital age. We had not entered that age as yet. I have absolutely no idea as to half-life now but it can't be much more than two or three years IF you wish to keep up. I just took an assignment on developing a vortex tube for a specific application. Had to go back to school on this one. As a consulting engineer, I find that to be the rule and not the exception. One of the very best vehicles for "keeping up" is Design News Daily. I find this web site to be extremely valuable for guys like us. Again, great post.

This isn't necessarily a guide, but a record of what I had to do to stay relevant in the ever evolving embedded engineering career world. It's for the generalist, more so. Most jobs I get, the company has only a vague idea of what they need. That need often changes at a drop of a hat, then I have to switch gears.

I sometimes wish I could just sit there and write highly complex Java programs all day. Be the master-level expert at something and go home. Instead I have to design a PCB.. then the enclosure for it.

Here is a breakdown of the programs I use, so you can get to those tutorials! -

I have used a slide rule for design work, and still can, except that the calculator does provide more exact figures, which are critical for verifying fits and clearances. I do sketch freehand but my sketches are ugly, but that is OK, the drafters assure me. Job security for them. Modeling is done using the cad program because of the tight clearances. The rest of the modelling, and the visualization, is ALL done inn my head. Good 3D rendering and very high resolution.

So not all engineers are dependant on the tools to make stuff happen. BUT the cad drawings certainly do look nicer. And the CAD system certainly makes it easier to pull off details for manufacturing to make.

FEA is all done by experienced estimates, while for CFD, it is all visualized. Much faster and not as accurate, except for sometimes.

I cannot use a sliderule. I cannot draw a print by hand - surely not a 3d presentation. I understand blueprints were blue. I cannot optimize without a program. Lost without FEA, math by hand? Come on now! etc. etc.

Without the computer, software, internet, etc., this versatile engineer is obsolete.

Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are getting ready to explode onto the market and it appears all the heavy tech companies are trying to out-develop one another with better features than their competition. Fledgling start-up Vrvana has joined the fray.

A Tokyo company, Miraisens Inc., has unveiled a device that allows users to move virtual 3D objects around and "feel" them via a vibration sensor. The device has many applications within the gaming, medical, and 3D-printing industries.

While every company might have their own solution for PLM, Aras Innovator 10 intends to make PLM easier for all company sizes through its customization. The program is also not resource intensive, which allows it to be appropriated for any use. Some have even linked it to the Raspberry Pi.

solidThinking updated its Inspire program with a multitude of features to expedite the conception and prototype process. The latest version lets users blend design with engineering and manufacturing constraints to produce the cheapest, most efficient design before production.

Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.